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Sustainable building

Sustainability includes environmental, social and economic factors. A sustainable building meets social and cultural needs, ensures resources are equally available and causes no irreversible damage to the environment during its entire life cycle.

Building sustainably is about using practices and systems that lessen impact on the environment, lower running costs and make homes healthy, accessible and comfortable. It includes energy efficiency, the move to a net zero-carbon economy and building resilience against hazards such as earthquakes, storms and flooding.

Resources for designers and builders

The BRANZ Level website is the primary source of information for designing and building sustainably.

BRANZ also provides tools and resources for life cycle assessment, carbon footprinting, thermal efficiency, universal design, reducing building and construction waste and the costs and benefits of building sustainably.